Casey: Davis conflicts are in the mainstream, but the water is polluted

But candidate's done nothing wrong in the eyes of Legislature

By Rick Casey

Updated 10:33 pm, Thursday, March 13, 2014

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis is taking flak these days for her legal work. She should seek counsel from San Antonio Mayor and fellow Harvard Law School grad Julián Castro on what to do about it - though she might not like his advice.

Nearly five years ago, Davis formed a law partnership with Brian Newby, a former chief of staff to Gov. Rick Perry and a registered lobbyist. They immediately sought work from a variety of public entities in her hometown of Fort Worth.

Last week, she released the names of some of the firm's clients. They included the North Texas Tollway Authority, the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the Fort Worth Independent School District, the Tarrant Regional Water District and the Benbrook Water Authority.

The potential for conflicts are obvious. As a state senator, Davis votes on and can help shape water bills, toll road bills, public school bills and airport bills. How can voters be sure she is voting their interests rather than the interests of her clients?

Also disturbing is that Davis said she was releasing only the names of the clients she personally does work for, not the clients of her partner. And she refused to release the names of private-sector clients, who may or may not have business before the Legislature.

She said she did more than was legally required, and she was right. The laws of the Legislature are exceedingly lax when it comes to requirements for legislators.

Castro found it was different when he was a baby lawyer at the mega-firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and a fledgling San Antonio City Council member. He was told he couldn't vote against a controversial PGA Village development over San Antonio's major water supply. The firm, without any involvement from him, had drafted the law the Legislature passed providing the developer massive potential tax breaks.

Not long after, in 2002, Castro would quit his Akin Gump job.

The final straw: He was prevented from voting against giving a contract for the collection of unpaid fines to the controversial back-tax collection firm of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson. Castro was supporting a staff recommendation of another firm.

Linebarger, it seems, had hired Akin Gump. Not so ironically, two council members were convicted of taking bribes from a Linebarger partner for their votes on the contract.

Julián Castro's brother, now-U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-San Antonio, was also hired by Akin Gump right out of Harvard Law School.

But Joaquín quit the firm when he was elected to the Texas Legislature. He thought there would be too many conflicts.

Perhaps he was naïve. Legislators in Austin swim in very different ethical waters. It's not only OK to work for people who have issues before the Legislature, it's OK to have your own personal money at stake.

State Sen. John Carona, a Dallas Republican, is president and CEO of Associa, the largest homeowner association management company in the nation. Yet as chairman of the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce, Carona has - and has exercised - outsized influence over legislation attempting to regulate the sometimes abusive practices of these associations.

State Rep. Gary Elkins, a Republican representing Houston, has worked hard in the Legislature to protect the right of payday lenders to charge outrageous interest and fees. His occupation: He's a payday lender.

To the rest of us, these men have conflicts of interest. To the Legislature, they have expertise.

There are many more examples. Wendy Davis's conflicts are in the mainstream - but the stream is polluted.

Rick Casey is a former Houston Chronicle columnist. This column first appeared as the "Last Word" on KLRN's "Texas Week with Rick Casey."